


Initiation

by 1221bookworm



Series: 50 Prompts (from Tumblr) [19]
Category: Six of Crows Series - Leigh Bardugo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-22
Updated: 2018-03-22
Packaged: 2019-04-06 12:00:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14056563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1221bookworm/pseuds/1221bookworm
Summary: A look into Inej's first heist with Kaz.  She doesn't think it goes well, but as all things when Kaz is involved, he planned it that way.





	Initiation

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: When I started, I literally had no idea where this piece was going. I had the prompt "With you", so I wrote down the sentence "I'm going with you" and then stared at it for a full ten minutes, trying to figure out who said it. One Inej inserted herself, it went much smoother - especially when Kaz butted out of my head and stopped demanding to take over the plot! I hope you enjoy this little look at Inej trying to find her place in the Dregs shortly after joining them. 
> 
> A/N 2: I don't own Six of Crows, or Ketterdam, or even 40 million kruge. I'll happily leave the book and city to the wonderful Leigh Bardugo, but I wouldn't mind getting my hands on some of the loot!

"I'm going with you." Inej watched as Kaz shrugged into his coat, the fabric tightening across his shoulder blades.   
Without turning, Kaz shook his head. "You gathered the information. That's what a spider does. I'll take care of the rest."   
Inej could feel the finality of the decision, but refused to accept it. "I'll be the lookout."  
"I work alone." His hat was on, and he picked up his cane, pointing the crows head at her. "Remember that." He was at the door with an uneven step. "Don't follow me." The words were spoken over his shoulder, dismissing her.  
She counted two breaths before heading to the window. Inej could be halfway down the block before Kaz finished the four flights down through the Slat. He would never know she was there.   
Kaz was easy to track. It wasn't so much that he used a cane, it was the way he tapped it, striking the paving stones as if they had done something to offend him. Using her ears left her eyes free to watch her steps. The rooftops of Ketterdam were nothing like the high wires she was used to. In a way, they were safer - one misstep wouldn't automatically send her plunging to her death. But the footing wasn't as sure; hidden nooks and loose tiles caught at her feet. She had to stop at regular intervals to wipe dust and debris off her bare toes, rubbing warmth back into them, as a light drizzle stole the heat from the rooftops and her feet. She should have stopped to get her boots. They may make her clumsier, but they kept her feet dry and warm.   
As they reached their mark, the home of a wealthy merchant, she noticed something was wrong. There were too many guards. Her report to Kaz had included two guards who walked the perimeter at regular intervals. Tonight, there were two extras, patrolling randomly. They appeared too interested in their own conversation to be paying particular attention to their jobs. That would change once Kaz make it on the property and was spotted snooping where he shouldn't be.  
Inej glanced back to where Kaz was making his way down the block. There was just enough time to warn him, tell him to go back. He could easily lose himself in the crowd, and the guards would be no wiser.   
The cold determination on his face stopped her in her tracks. Kaz could never be considered warm, and friendly was probably too much to ask for, but she had never seen him exhibit this level of intensity. Inej shivered, glad that whatever was driving him was not directed at her.   
It wouldn't be enough if he was faced with four armed guards. Inej scurried over the rooftops, working for speed instead of stealth. The plan vaguely forming in her head required them to notice her. She would be the distraction.  
Once she was inside the perimeter, she collected a handful of pebbles, bouncing them against the cobblestones. The guards didn't even flinch. One of them muttered something about having rats. Inej shook her head. They would have a bigger problem than rats if Kaz completed his mission and the master of the house decided to punish them for carelessness.   
Kaz would be nearing the property by now, if he wasn't already on the grounds. Time to take more drastic measures.   
Taking a deep breath, she started running. It took everything in her to be as noisy as possible after years of quiet steps. She slapped her feet down, running through bushes and snapping branches as she went. She watched the reaction of the roving guards as they spotted her. They signaled to each other, then only one came to investigate while the other continued his patrol.  
Her eyes widened, causing her to stumble, grasping at a nearby rosebush. Her hands stung, but she had to keep moving. They had been expecting intruders. That's why there were extras. That's why they had split up. They weren't going to be tricked that easily into leaving the house unguarded. She had to ditch her tail and warn Kaz right away. If these were the outside security precautions, who knew what would be waiting inside.  
Inej scrambled up the wall of the house, her feet struggling to find purchase on the rain slick bricks. At least the guard hadn't seen her. After stomping around a bit, he stalked off, muttering about chasing cats in the rain. Now she had the advantage of height as she scanned the grounds for Kaz.  
Her jaw dropped as she recognized his silhouette in the light of the front door as it closed behind him. It just wasn't possible. He couldn't have run fast enough, and however he had gotten through, it hadn't alerted the guards.   
Pulling her knees to her chest, she settled into wait for him to finish his business, beginning to understand how he had earned his reputation.  
The minutes stretched on, and Inej used to time to determine how she could distract two guards without making them suspicious. Just because Kaz had avoided three guards, didn't mean the odds shouldn't be tipped in his favor for his trip out.   
Her eyelids had started to droop and her feet were nearly numb when light spilled out across the path again. Inej scrambled to her feet, tracking Kaz's progress as she tried to rub feeling into her legs. She knew better than to attempt to run before her feet could respond, and she bit her lip as precious moments were wasted and Kaz advanced further and further towards the guards.   
Once she had command of her legs again, Inej scanned the grounds, reframing her previous plan even as she took a running leap off the rooftop.  
She hit the gravel hard, wincing as pebbles dug themselves into her soles. At least the sound had drawn the attention of the guards. Two of them were approaching, each unaware the other had left their post to investigate.   
Frantically, she looked between them. If she planned this just right, they would think they noises they heard were each other. And, if the saints watched over her tonight, they would have a good laugh over it, giving Inej time to slip away through the shadows.  
Moving quietly, she approached the further guard, waiting until his back was turned to rustle the branches of a nearby bush, leaving them to wave suspiciously, enticing the guard to investigate.   
It wasn't as easy to attract the attention of the second man. Inej was half convinced he was deaf before he finally turned and noticed the other guard, now doing a thorough sweep of the bushes.   
She didn't wait to see his reaction. She had to check on Kaz. Her mind was filled with images of Kaz being captured, dragged away, sentenced. The Dregs would never forgive her for failing to protect on of their favorite lieutenants.   
A shiver ran through her as she realized Per Haskell would sell her indenture back to Tante Heleen. Inej knew she would die before her debt was paid, and the fear of that future welled in her chest. Taking slow breaths, she forced the panic down, her thoughts clearing enough to assess her current situation.  
Kaz was beyond the reach of the guards. She caught the glimpse of his cane disappearing down a side street, different than the one he had used to approach. Her heart sank. He had left her there, alone, to escape with four guards between her and freedom. Then an even more painful thought hit her. Kaz didn't know she was there. He was walking away, congratulating himself on a job well done, unaware she was trapped. A liability to him and the Dregs.  
Inej knew she would never let that happen. Kaz had saved her from a fate worse than death. The Dregs, if not nice, had not been cruel, and Inej realized now why so many joined street gangs. To find a purpose, higher than themselves, to motivate them. To find a reason to fight their way out of a corner. To jump into action when their appeared to be no hope. Inej would not fail now.  
With a silent prayer to her saints to give her the strength to match her newfound courage, Inej began the slow process of picking her way off the grounds and back onto the street. She backtracked often, relying on silence and stillness to avoid detection.  
She didn't know peace until she had regained the rooftops. Her body sagged with the sudden release of tension, and she allowed herself a deep breath, filling herself with the knowledge that she was the mistress of her own fate. She wasn't helpless, she possessed the skills to make the future one she wanted.  
Not that she couldn't make improvements. She stopped a moment to wipe her feet, glad, at least, she hadn't broken skin in her adventure. She wouldn't want to leave a trail of bloody footprints all the way back to the Slat.  
She took her time heading back, so it was quite late as she slipped in through the window to her tiny room, barely more than a closet. But it was hers, and hers alone.  
Except tonight. Inej froze as her eyes adjusted, recognizing only that she was not alone. Slowly, the figure resolved itself into a man, then.  
"Kaz." She heaved a sigh of relief, then tensed again. What was he doing in her room? Did he want a favor from her? Her heart constricted at the thought that maybe Kaz wasn't better than Tante Heleen.  
He flipped a coin into the air, watching as it twirled, landing with a satisfying clink next to a small pile of coins stacked neatly on her bed.   
"That's your half of tonight's haul, after Per Haskell's share."   
Inej started. That wasn't what she was expecting.   
"I wasn't there." She turned her back on him, closing the window and drawing the thin curtain.  
"Don't lie to me." There was danger in that voice. Inej waited until the shiver of dread had passed before turning back to face him.  
"I didn't do anything." She plucked two coins off the pile. "My standard fee for the information. The rest of the haul is yours, Kaz."  
He didn't move from his seat on her only stool, legs stretched out in front of him, ankles crossed. His cane rested beside him, leaned up against the wall as if at attention. Inej refused to sit on the bed, and so she waited, standing in silence as he contemplated the kruge sitting before him.  
Kaz shrugged. "It's true enough that you were little help. I could have - easily - pulled that heist without you. That is not the point." Inej bristled at the arrogance that filled his speech. Next time, he could get his own information, too.  
He continued, barely acknowledging her reaction. "Tonight was a test. You passed. More or less."  
"A test?" Inej sank down onto the edge of the mattress. Her tired mind must be playing tricks on her.  
"Yes." Grasping his cane, he swung himself to his feet. Inej could tell the dampness from the earlier rain bothered him, he kept his weight almost entirely off his bad leg. "I anonymously reported a potential robbery tonight. I needed to know if you could face the challenge. And the surprise."  
Shaking her head, Inej said, "I don't understand."  
Kaz paused, looking down at her. "You didn't run. You didn't abandon your gang. And you didn't get caught. We'll work on your technique."  
He limped to the door, his hand on the knob before she stopped him. "I don't understand. What if I hadn't come? Wasn't that a huge risk?" She braced herself for anger. She hadn't meant to say that last part aloud.  
Slowly, he turned, his eyes meeting hers. "I gambled on you. I knew you would come. You needed to know you would come." Reaching inside his breast pocket, he pulled out a wallet and flipped it next to her hand on the bed. "Take that. I lifted it off one of the guards. I already emptied the kruge, but you should put that away." He pointed his cane to her money.   
"Isn't it part of the haul? What do I owe you?" She reached toward the pile, ready to pay him.  
"Nothing. It's not worth anything. You've just saved me the trouble of disposing of it."  
The door swung shut behind him. Inej sat in silence, running her fingers over the soft leather of the wallet. It certainly wasn't worth nothing. She didn't know the market well, but she was sure some coin could be made off such an object.  
But it was hers now. She took her time, counting her money into the wallet. Her mind spun with possibilities.   
When she was finished, she tucked in under her pillow. She would find a better hiding place in the morning. For now, it was time to sleep.


End file.
